Jet Force Ares
by GForce
Summary: One soldier, up against an army...Chapter 3 is here. Sorry it took so long.
1. The Crash

Jet Force Ares, the Duel-Purpose M75, and Tom O'Neill copyright Tom O'Neill, 2002. A lone animal let out a cry across the lonely planet, expressing grief and loss, but no one heard it over the roar of death, reloading, shells clinking as they hit the ground, and guns emitting bullet after bullet. A lone soldier stood behind a crate holding a newly created weapon, called the Duel-Purpose M75, a machine gun that had a grenade attachment on the bottom of it. The soldier, named Tom O'Neill, held down the trigger of the weapon, taking down hordes of the newly discovered bug. It walked on eight legs, and had two yellow and black crushers sticking out from it. They weren't teeth. They grabbed the victim and crushed them into smaller pieces, then ate them. But that's all they knew. No one had been able to capture one yet.  
  
And now he was there, fighting beside his dead squadron, an expression of rage and fear hidden behind his helmet. He began to back up as they gained on him, inching closer and closer to the rubble of his downed ship. He wouldn't go down, he though to himself. He wouldn't let them. One of the monsters slipped through the gunfire and charged. He pulled the second trigger, and with a bellowing, echoing sound, a grenade flew through the air and landed with a plink next to it. It exploded loudly, the shrapnel flying from it and digging into the creature's skin, killing it instantly. Suddenly, Tom's foot went out from under him, kicking up a spray of dirt and pebbles. He checked behind him for a second. He was standing at the edge of a bluff, looking down at a tranquil lake. His acrophobia kicked in. He looked at the fall in terror. He ran forwards a few feet to escape the bluff. But that small moment was enough for the beasts to charged. Tom yelled in rage, but stood his ground, pulling the trigger. The creatures were going down, but then a noise filled his ears that was so simple yet so terrifying. The click of an empty magazine that was he last one. He looked up and saw the slow approach of his foes. He knew he had only one option.  
  
He dove. He leapt off the bluff with a swan dive, the wind howling in his ears. A creature accidentally followed by getting too close to the edge, and fell with him. Soon, however, the creature slammed into a rock jutting from the edge of the cliff and exploded into pieces. Tom closed his eyes and he hit the water with an inaudible splash from the ears of the creatures on the bluff. They walked towards his dead teammates and devoured them.  
  
Author's Notes: This is the introduction. If I get positive reviews, I will continue. 


	2. Meeting the Local Wildlife

Tom O'Neill, Jet Force Ares copyright Tom O'Neill.  
  
Jet Force Ares  
  
Tom walked down the long, dark corridors of his ship. The alarm lights were flashing, red light lit up the hall. His pace sped up a little, and soon he began to run. He ran down the seemingly endless hallway, until it began to crack at his feet. He stopped. The steel metal cracked, pieces of it chipping away until one of the monsters burst open from it with a scream, and raised its crushers at him.Tom opened his mouth but nothing came out as they closed in around him.  
  
"Ahhhhh!" Tom sat up with a jolt. He was panting heavily, covered in a cold sweat. He put his hands on the ground and was met with the warm feeling of sand. He looked around him. He was on the shore of a lake. Behind him was a forest of what looked like pine trees. Next, he noticed his weapon lying a few feet away from him. He stood up slowly, his back aching from the pain of the fall, and limped over to the gun. He picked it up and strapped it onto his armor. He reached down and slid a combat knife out from his boot. He was lucky to have it. On the brown-tinted grip of the knife, the Jet Force Ares symbol was engraved. It had the letters "JFA", and a Roman soldier riding a chariot. He never really noticed how high quality it was. He shrugged to himself as he held it in his hands. He turned around and looked at the pine tree forest behind. He could hear a few noises coming from the native animals. They seemed to pose no threat. Tom figured he would probably have to search for some abandoned outpost the squad before his had set up. Chances are they were all dead. Tom sighed quietly to himself before he set out into the brush.  
  
Not surprisingly, this forest was like the ones on Earth. The light shone in through the canopies, illuminating Tom's face as the walked through the dense bushes. His feet sunk into the mud. He guessed that it was raining on the planet not too long ago. He pressed forward, bogged down by the wet ground. Suddenly, a rumble shook the ground he was standing on. Tom froze, remaining absolutely quiet. He stood few a few minutes that seemed like hours, the only noise around was his own labored breathing. Then another tremor shook the ground. A group of birds flew up from the trees, squawking and chirping noisily. Tom noticed that these birds had four different wings. Another rumble. They were getting quicker. Then came another, and another. Just then, Tom realized along with getting quicker, they were getting closer.  
  
Tom began to run, but it was too late. A huge beast came flying out of the trees. Tom estimated it was about fifty feet tall. It had a dark brown and faded green color to it. It walked on two legs that had strong thighs. It had four-clawed feet. It had long arms as well, ending with four claws. It's head was in the was very thin and sleek, resembling that of a raptor's, except..."Wait, no," Tom thought to himself, "it's not different. Just one big fucking raptor." The raptor's feet stopped directly in front of him. Tom just stood still.  
  
The raptor sniffed the air in front of it. It seemed to smell something. unusual. It's head turned in Tom's direction, but not directly at him. It continued to sniff, it's nostrils expanding and shrinking again, and then it looked directly at the young soldier.  
  
It growled low and soft, it's top lip flapping up, revealing razor-sheep, yet yellow teeth. It advanced its head a little further, then opened its mouth slightly, this time releasing a louder growl. Until it got pissed, and opened its mouth completely, letting out a shrieking cry, the hot breath crawling down Tom's neck. "Oh, shit," he murmured to himself.  
  
The raptor leaned down, swiftly and silently, to take pick up Tom and just devour him whole. But Tom reacted quicker. He reeled his arm back, then flung the knife. It flew through the air, it's target laid out before it. Then it slammed and dug its way into the raptor's eye, staining its silver blade a dark crimson. The raptor reeled up in horrible agony; its screech filled the air. Using this opportunity, Tom darted into the underbrush. His feet padded along smoothly along the soft dirt ground, making almost no sound. The ground below him began to run. The raptor was chasing him, and was gaining quickly, without a doubt. He kept running, of course. There was no place for him to find, though this didn't stop him from looking around for a cave of some sort to hide in. Suddenly, through the trees, he saw an open field. In this field was a large, wooden fence, set up as a barricade. There were a few sniper towers, and some tents here and there. He had to get inside, and he would be home free. He dove into the clearing. The raptor came out right behind him. He was surprised at how close the beast had actually been. He scrambled up to the structure. The raptor was right behind him now. He thought he wasn't going to make it, until a gunshot, clear as day, rang out through the air. Followed by another, and another. The raptor fell with a resounding thud, letting out a dieing moan. Cautiously, Tom made his way into the base. 


	3. Rendezvous

Jet Force Ares  
  
Tom stepped forward through a large, open hole in the towering wooden barricade. Inside, there was simply a grassy field. However, he saw metal structures built up against the wood that he had not previously seen before. He took another step. Tom's large, metal boot crushed a small twig and it snapped. In the silence, it sounded like an explosion. Tom stopped walking and held his breath. Although whoever was in here had shot that raptor, he didn't wanna take any chances. It could be some new Tyrant trying to rule the galaxy.  
  
Suddenly, he heard the familiar whir of machinery. He looked over to his right, which is where it sounded like the noise was coming from. He was right, there was a small metal door slowly being pushed up. However, he saw that it wasn't electronic. There were pairs of hands lifting up the large door. Tom raised a brow, wondering why the fort was using such primitive technology. Then it hit him, he was on a recon/rescue mission after all. Finally, the door was opened.  
  
"Hello.?" Tom called out to them. His voice cracked a little bit, but he didn't mind.  
  
"Who are you?" was the reply. Tom noticed there were three soldiers there out of the original 10, made up of a few Jet Forcers and some other assorted units.  
  
"My name is Tom O'Neill, Jet Force Ares. And yourselves?"  
  
Instead of getting a reply, the three-soldier squadron stepped out of the door and into the piercing morning sunlight. They trudged across the plain until they came face to face with Tom.  
  
The one in front that reached him first took off his helmet. He had short hair that was slightly browner than Tom's. He was about the same height. The soldier reached out his hand.  
  
"Adam Blachut, Jet Force Anubis. Good to see ya."  
  
Tom extended his hand and shook Adam's. He grinned slightly at him, then glanced at the other two standing next to Adam. They had already taken off their helmets. Tom realized one was a woman, the other was a man. The man spoke.  
  
"Miles Brooker, JF Zeus." He held out his hand, and Tom shook it.  
  
"Sarah Ringo, I'm in Zeus too." Tom shook her hand as well.  
  
"So, what happened? Y'know, I don't enjoy being pulled out of leave," Tom asked the trio.  
  
"Well, I don't remember much, but some new satellite found this planet somewhere near Goldwood. The satellite took some shots, and some scientist guys decided it has a huge amount of oil on it, so of course we get sent for recon. Well, I know you've met the local wildlife, so you can only assume what happened next. Adam explained.  
  
"And what happened to you?" Sarah asked.  
  
"Well."Tom began.  
  
[Flashback]  
  
The whirr of the engines filled Tom's ears as the small fighter jet soared high above the air. He sat motionless, slowly leaning back and forth do to the turbulance the plane expierenced. He glanced quickly at the containers scattered about the room around him, and he sighed heavily in his helmet. His gun was loaded and ready already, and was lieing in his lap.  
  
Tom looked up as the door a few feet away slid open and a tall, young man stepped inside, the leader of JFA. His name was Randy. He smirked a bit at him, then calmly spoke, "That fear a' heights still bothering you?"  
  
Tom nodded slowly, not caring much about what he had to say.  
  
"Well, we're landing pretty soon. Get your stuff ready."  
  
"Alright," Tom responded.  
  
Tom began to check the statistics of his armor, making sure every function was operating smoothly, when he heard the pilot call out to the ship, "Hey, you guys wanna come see this? Pretty neat."  
  
Tom sighed to himself and got up. He tapped a button next to the door of the small cargo boy, and it slid open with a mechanic whirr. He stepped outside and walked down a narrow hallway, his heavy armor clanking with every step that he took.  
  
He stepped into the large cockpit that also contained a large quantity of computers, maps, and radars. He found that the rest of the team was already there, staring in awe out of the front window. Tom shrugged to himself and walked forward, examining the front window. He stopped short. His mouth fell open at the sight of it.  
  
An enormous swarm of the alien insects zipped around the whole entire ship, creating a loud and obnoxious buzzing noise. The aliens resembled mosquitoes a great deal, except they were bright green in color. They had four wings and two segmented anteannae protruding from their head. Joe, the pilot, whistled at their humongous numbers.  
  
"Jesus.who's got the can of Raid?" joked Tim, the team's on-board mechanic.  
  
No one responded to the joke. They merely kept quiet, amazed at the new creatures. Suddenly, the silence was interrupted. With a resounding thud, one of the insects landed on the window of the ship. It shook the jet slightly, but not enough to make anyone lose their balance. Tom raised his weapon at the bug, not even realizing it wasn't loaded. Soon, however, he realized his weapon wasn't ready, and he jammed a magazine into it, just in case. He found everyone else had their weapons ready.  
  
"What should we do!?" Joe asked quickly.  
  
"Uh." came Randy's reply.  
  
Instantly after that, the insect smashed through the windshield. 


End file.
